Mates by Birth
by darklightningdevil
Summary: Long ago, the Demon of the Sand revealed he had a mate. But little did he, or his container, know that his mate,the Demon of Blood, had a container too. When Gaara and Sakura meet at the Chunin exams, who knows what will happen. GaaraXSakura GaaSaku
1. Chapter 1

Mkay! New story for ya, on request! And before you yell at me for not updating a second chance, im sorry I haven't updated in about half a year, but you can be expecting a new chapter within the next week and a half, depending on how school goes. Anyway! If you want my excuses why I haven't been writing, I don't have any excuses besides school was tough, and I was kinda lazy. I was planning to update in December, but my grandma died, so I had funeral stuff, and I just didn't feel like writing… ANYWAY!!!! Im back. ^_^

And a special thanks to Deidara's Wolf for requesting the story and getting me back into writing. THANK HER EVERYONE!!!! This story idea comes from her!!! ^_^ And im sooooooooooo sorry its so late!!!!!! TT_TT

_Thoughts_

_**Demons**_

**AN(authors note)**

Ages:

Rookie 9: 13

Team Gai: 14

Gaara: 14

Temari: 16

Kankuro: 15

…...//***\\......

"GOOD MORNING SAKURA CHAN!!!!" Uzumaki Naruto, the blond hyperactive-ninja shouted as he ran down the street towards his teammates. They barely glanced at him, bored no doubt, in waiting for Kakashi to come.

He skidded to a stop in front of them and locked eyes with Uchiha Sasuke, glaring. They both 'hmmf'ed and turned away from each other.

Haruno Sakura just sighed and shook her head.

_Ever since we got back from the mission in Wave, those two have been acting weirder and weirder!......Then again, I haven't been too normal myself the past few days… _

She was referring to the strange feeling she had been experiencing the past three days. It was almost a sense of… forbearing? Maybe it was more like anticipation. She had barely been able to sit still since she got the feeling. It was if something was steadily getting closer, and the closer it got, the more intense the feeling became. The last few hours had been the worst. The feeling was almost turning to a physical ache. Physical in the way you can't put it out of your mind no matter how you tried.

Not that she had told anyone. Especially not her teammates. I would only make her seem weaker then she already was in their eyes. She didn't want to be a burden. Not anymore.

_**Can you be a bit more dramatic?**_ A voice in her head asked sarcastically.

Sakura froze in shock. _What the….? Who the hell are you?! _She was used to hearing voices in her head, but not this one. This wasn't the heated voice of inner Sakura. No, this voice was… colder almost? No not colder. Superior.

Before she got a chance to receive a reply, her sensei appeared with a poof and a lame excuse for being late. Sakura turned her attention outwards and pushed all thoughts of the voice away. Time to focus on the mission.

…...//***\\.......

Team 7 was walking down the bustling streets of Konoha, Sakura helping Naruto hobble along.

"Ughh, I'm beat!" Naruto stated as they stopped, the crowds still moving around them.

"Hn. Dobe. I'm going home." Sasuke stated as he turned to walk away. Sakura ran after him her fangirl side kicking in. **AN(ughhh. )**

"Hey Sasuke! I was wondering if we could…. Train together?" she asked hopefully. He didn't even look at her when he replied.

"Your worse than Naruto. Why don't you actually practice instead of flirting? Kami, even his skills are better than yours." He stated coldly and walked away.

"Oh… ok…." She replied quietly, even though he was long gone.

_He's right!!! I'm always the weakest no matter what the situation!!!!_

_**Then change yourself!! Prove him wrong!! Find someone to train you!!! **_

She decided then, she would find someone. She wouldn't be weak anymore.

……//***\\......

"Come back here kid!!!" Sakura shouted as she ran after Naruto, Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi. Their chase was cut short however, when Konohamaru slammed into a guy wearing…. Was that facepaint?

" Hey brat! That hurt!" he yelled, picking the kid up but his enormous scarf.

Sakura looked at the two newcomers, from Suna according to their hiate-ate. One, the girl, with four spiky pigtails had a fan strapped to her back. The other, the boy with the war paint, had a big bandaged-thing on his back. Oh, and he had cat ears.

"Knock it off Kankuro! You're going to get it as it is." The spiky haired girl reprimanded the boy, Kankuro. She glanced around wearily, as if she was looking to see if anyone was watching the scene they were making.

The feeling of anticipation within Sakura was getting worse, and she found herself speaking out in Konohamaru's defense.

"It was an accident! We were just playing around!" she yelled and stepped forward a bit. No one replied, but that was fine with her. She wouldn't have been paying attention anyway.

The sensation that had been plaguing her the past few days had finally reached its peak. She knew then, that whatever it was that was coming, was just about here.

So wrapped up in her emotions, she barely noticed Naruto yelling at the foreigners, only to be pushed back by a kick. So distracted she was, that she only came to when she heard Kankuro cry out in pain and drop Konohamaru. She briefly glanced up at Sasuke in the tree, he was the one who threw the rock.

Surprisingly, his presence didn't even faze her. Her attention was everywhere and nowhere all at the same time. It was a strange feeling, but it allowed her to sense the approaching chakra presence just seconds before it disappeared and reappeared in Sasuke's tree.

Sakura looked as though she was in a trance. Eyes staring at the tree, but not really seeing it. As if she was viewing a world that only she could see. Not that anyone noticed. The events continued around her as if nothing had happened.

……//***\\......

"Get lost." Sasuke stated coldly.

"Oh look, another brat." Kankuro smirked as he started unwrapping his puppet.

"Tell me you're not going to use the crow?" Temari asked him in disbelief. He didn't answer, but he was interrupted by another voice.

……//***\\......

Sakura was awoken from her stupor by and almost emotionless voice.

"Kankuro! Don't." the gravelly, yet smooth voice said from above.

The feelings and sensations that Sakura had been experiencing vanished and were replaced by a calm, a sense of _rightness_.

_Where the hell did THAT come from?_(referring to the feeling, not Gaara)

All eyes were on the boy hanging upside down from the tree. Jade, sleep-ridden eyes glared at the boy in the war paint. Sakura was broke out of her observations when he spoke again.

"You're a disgrace to our entire village." He stated coldly, his glare enough to make anyone shiver.

"G-Gaara…" Kankuro stuttered, fear lacing his voice as terror crept up his spine. He _knew _what his little brother was capable of.

……//***\\......

Sakura caught herself, and looked away from the redhead. She had been staring, no _memorizing_ his features, with no explanation within herself as to why. His blood red hair, the dark circles around his bright eyes. She was subconsciously _imprinting_ his profile into her mind. Every single buckle on the straps of his gourd was carefully noted and stored in the back of her mind….

_Kami! What am I doing?!_ Sakura thought in a panic, only dedicated self control keeping the blush off of her face.

Her mental turmoil was interrupted as the scratchy voice spoke again.

"It annoys me that you would lose control in a quarrel with children. Have you forgotten why we came here?"

"But Gaara!" Sakura felt a tingling at his name. " They started it! The little one slammed into me…!" Sakura felt a flare of anger at Kankuro's words, and felt herself instinctively speaking out.

"I **told** you already! It was an accident!" she shouted, suprising herself and her teammates with her outburst. Kankuro glared at her

"Be quiet you bi-" Kankuro started.

"Shut up." Gaara said coldly towards his brother. "Or I'll kill you." He finished.

Kankuro shivered, and Temari stepped in.

"Okay. We're sorry Gaara."

"Yeah!" Kankuro piped up, following his sister's lead. "I was out of line. You were right."

Gaara just stared. "Che," he grunted " Im sorry about my friends" he said, still emotionless, and Sakura couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or sincere. His eyes flickered to Sakura briefly before he disappeared in a whirl of sand, only to reappear in between his siblings.

"I know we're a bit early… But we didn't come to play."

He turned to leave, and with a final glance back started walking, his siblings following.

"Lets go."

……//***\\......

_**Call him back!!!**_ The unknown voice shouted.

"Wait!" Sakura yelled after the trio, surprising herself and everyone else.

Including the Sand Gennin.

"Yes?" Gaara asked once he turned to face her a few yards away, pinning Sakura with a leveled stare that raised goosebumps on her arms.

"Umm…" Sakura stumbeled for something to say that would sound like a legitimate reason to call back a complete stranger who seemed rather dangerous. It wasn't like she could say a voice in her head told her to.

'_Cuz that doesn't sound crazy at all…._

Luckily, Sasuke stepped in and saved the day.

Yay!..... Not.

He went into a lengthy interrogation, asking them who they were and what they were doing in Konoha, to which the pigtailed fan wielder steadily replied.

All the while, though, Gaara kept Sakura's stare, not looking away once.

Was he even blinking?

When Temari finished her explanation about the Chunin Selection Exams, Sasuke spoke up again. He directed his glare towards Gaara who was still looking at Sakura.

"Hey, you! With the gourd. What's your name?" he asked, rather rudely in Sakura's opinion.

Gaara's eyes released hers as he glanced towards Sasuke's direction for a second. His gaze then returned to Sakura's.

"Sabaku no Gaara."

His gaze flickered down her form briefly before looking at her eyes again. Sakura could have sworn she saw a smirk flash across his features, but it was gone just as fast as it had come, so she couldn't be sure. IT was probably just her imagination.

"At your service." He finished, as he turned away from the blushing pinkette and faced Sasuke.

"And you are?" he asked, thought his voice barely betrayed his curiosity. Sasuke's face turned to an overconfident smirk as he answered:

"Uchiha Sasuke."

They shared a glare, but the moment was broken by the loud mouth blonde in the orange jumpsuit.

"Hey! Hey! Don't you want to know my name?!" Naruto shouted.

"No." Gaara answered simply. "Let's go." He muttered to his siblings and without so much as a backwards glance, walked off down the street and around the corner.

……//***\\......

"Gah! What's going on?!" Sakura yelled to no one as she punched a tree at the edge of the clearing in which she was practicing. Feeling a sharp tingling in her knuckles, she looked down, only to be met with the sight of blood dripping down her fingers.

_Damn…_

"Answer me god dam it!" she yelled again, gripping her head in her hands and leaning against the aforementioned tree.

_**Geeze, quiet down. People are going to think you're going crazy.**_

_Finally! Thank kami! Now will you please give me some answers???_

_**Sure, but you might want to deal with sand boy over there first, because apparently you're screaming did draw some attention.**_

……//***\\......

Sakura froze and lifted her head slowly, like a deer caught in the headlights. Sure enough, a pair of piercing jade eyes was watching her from his perch in a tree across the clearing from her, still as a statue.

"Uhh… Hi?" she blurted out, then mentally cursed herself for her stupidity. 'Uhh… Hi?'!!!! Couldn't she be a bit more articulate?! Wait, why should she even care? He's just some random guy. A stranger even. Besides, she had Sasuke right? Wait, wait, why was she comparing him to Sasuke? It wasn't as if she liked him or anything! She just met him yesterday!

_He doesn't even know my name….._ Abruptly, his voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Who were you talking to?" he asked, his face a perfect emotionless mask.

"Oh! Um… About that… You see…" she stumbled over what to say, He gave her a semi incredulous look that said 'yes…?'

"….. I was talking to… Myself. Yup. Just myself." She said, rather unconvincingly, hoping he didn't press the matter further.

He didn't.

He just gave her a contemplative stare before turning around, about to jump back to wherever it was he had come from.

_**Wait! **_

"Wait!" Sakura yelled automatically. Gaara looked over his shoulder at her.

"Yes?" he questioned simply.

Sakura scrambled for something to say, all the while cursing the mysterious voice in her head.

"Why… Why were you out here?"

Okay. Good. Simple. Easy. Not stupid.

He gave her a look and replied:

"Training."

_Idiot! Why ELSE would he be in the middle of a forest?_

Seeing that she wasn't responding, he turned once again to leave.

_**Wait… Training! **_

"Wait!" she yelled AGAIN.

Gaara turned and jumped to the forest floor. He walked in her direction, stopping a few feet away from her, a light glare dusting his features as his eyes narrowed infinitesimally.

"What?" he probed, irritation slowly seeping into his voice along with annoyance.

"Can you… Can you train me?" she asked, trying to put up a brave front while her insides were quivering in anticipation.

"No…" he answered incredulously. What was she thinking? **Him** train _her_???

Impulsively, she stepped forward and closed the gap between them. She made to grab his hand, and, surprising both of them both of them, Gaara's sand shield didn't block Sakura. As soon as her fingers brushed his wrist, a spark, almost like an electric current ran up both of their arms.

_**Shukaku…?**_

…_**Nanaki?**_

The two jerked apart.

_**Say yes.**_

_What?_

_**SAY IT!**_

" I'll train you…. But only until the exams are over." Gaara ground out, breaking the silence. And disappeared in a flurry of sand.

Sakura, completely dazed, had only one coherent thought.

……//***\\......

_He still doesn't know my name…_

{{sweatdrop}}


	2. The First Exam!

**

* * *

**

Mkay! Second chapter! Uh, I have a second chance written….. except I wrote it on my phone…. And I cant figure out how to get it off without retyping it… ANY IDEAS?! They'd be much appreciated, and it'd make the chapter come out faster…

**THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE REVIEWERS!!!! And to the one who said that Gaara is the same age as the rookie nine, I know that. Can we just **_**pretend**_** that by the time the exams start, he already had his birthday? Which would make Sakura's about a month after! Ok, work with me : PRETEND. K? good! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, you should that! Why would I be writing fanfictions if I did? Besides, my manga art is nowhere NEAR as good as masashi kishimoto-sama!!!!!**

**Anyway, BEGIN!!!!**

_Sakura_

_**Nanaki**_

_Gaara_

_**Shukaku**_

_*Ino-pig*_

*shuffle shuffle*

…_**.What ARE you doing?**_ A curious yet confused voiced asked from the back of her mind.

Sakura just sighed and let herself fall back against the wall behind her hiding spot, further sliding into a sitting position and letting her head rest on her arms.

"This is useless…" she muttered, leaning back and looking hopelessly at the clear blue sky which was the polar opposite of her mood.

_**WHAT is useless?! Just because I live in your mind doesn't mean I can read your thoughts!**_

_Really? _Sakura questioned, a bit of hope and disbelief lacing her thought. Well THAT was a relie-

_**No. I can, I'm just not the intruding type. **_The voice responded lazily.

Sakura just groaned again and let her head fall back against the stone wall. After a few seconds of silence, Sakura sighed and stood, dusting the dirt off of her red dress. She stepped out from behind the bush that concealed her hiding spot and walked into the bustling crowds that was the markets of Konoha.

_I have to find him._ Sakura thought as she glanced at the position of the sun. _Only a few more hours till the first exam, and I haven't learned ANYTHING! _She thought in despair, trudging along sullenly.

_**Ahhh. I got it now! We're looking for Sand Boy!!!**_ The voice exclaimed, happy to have figured out what Sakura was doing. After all, hiding in bushes and observing the exits of hotels weren't what the pinkette normally did with her free time… At least the voice hoped she didn't.

"AUGHH!!!" Sakura yelled in frustration as the sun rose higher in the sky, almost reaching its midpoint at noon. She had until then to find the sand-wielder, and obviously, she wasn't having much luck with that. 

Deciding it was useless in the end, that unless the sand-wielding boy WANTED to be found, he wouldn't be.

_OKAY! New plan! _She thought determinedly as she walked over to Ichiraku Ramen, sitting down and ordering the miso ramen.

…_**.So what's the plan…?**_ The voice asked, confused.

Sakura setteled into her seat, getting more comfortable, because she knew she'd be there for a while.

_The plan is, you're going to tell me who… or WHAT you are. Right here, right now. _She stated, determination lacing her thoughts.

The voice sighed.

_**I figured it was only a matter of time until your curiosity got the better of you… **_the voice said wryly as the chef placed Sakura's ramen in front of her.

_**You eat, I'll explain.**_ Sakura obliged, splitting her chopsticks and starting to eat, her attention focused inward.

_**First of all, my name is Nanaki. My full title is technically Nibi no**_ _**Ketsueki Bijuu. Not to be confused with the Nibi no Nekomata. I am the Two Tailed Cat, also known as the Demon of Blood. **_The voice, Nanaki, paused to let Sakura digest the information. Her reaction was understandable.

Upon hearing Nanaki's declaration, she promptly spit out the ramen broth she was drinking and choked on the noodles. Wheezing and coughing, she payed for the meal and promptly fled the ramen shop, all too aware of the crazy stares she was getting.

After her coughing fit had subsided, she made her way to the training grounds and sat in the shade of one of the trees there.

_Okay, WHAT?! There is NO WAY in hell that I'm a jinchuuriki!!!!! I'm! I mean…! There's NO WAY!!! I'm not nearly strong enough! _Sakura though in a panic. Ever since she was little, she'd had confidence issues, and this news was too much for her. She was going into hysterics.

_A Bijuu?! There's a BIJUU living inside me?! A Bijuu-_

_**OKAY! I get it! I'm a Bijuu. Just because I'm a demon, doesn't mean I'm a monster!... Well not really. **_Sakura felt the cat demon in her head grin, and shuddered a bit. This was too weird for her.

_**Okay, let's try this! Deep breath IN… Now OUT… Yes! Good, keep doing that while I finish my story. **_Nanaki advised as Sakura did her breathing exercises to calm herself.

_**At the time of your birth, I was a crazed creature. I had lost my mate only a month before, and I was taking out my fury on the Sand, the village that took my mate, my Shukaku away. Suna was weak at the time, for it had taken a lot to capture and seal the one-tailed tanuki, so they called Konoha for backup. **_She paused again, and Sakura finally calmed down and stopped her breathing exercises. A bit saner with the situation, she waited until Nanaki continued.

_**Well, as you can obviously tell, they caught me. And they needed a newborn to seal me in. Your mother and father were part of the team that captured me, though only your father participated, your mother was far too pregnant at the time. You were only a day old, but you were the only candidate. And… Well you know the rest.**_

Sakura just sat there, dumbfounded. This was _seriously _happening wasn't it?

_*Sigh*So what now?_ Sakura asked the Blood Demon.

_**Well… What does someone usually do when they realize that they have a demon living inside them? **_

"…HOW WOULD I KNOW?!?!?!" Sakura accidentally shouted out blushing when she realized what she just did, Sakura jumped up and looked at the sun once again. Seeing it at its peak in the sky, her eyes widened and she took off running to her teams meeting place.

The Exams were about to begin.

* * *

"YOU! Fight me!" a voice yelled from above as Team 7 walked onto the third floor of the Academy where the first exams were to be held. Suddenly a green spandex-clad, bowl cut hairdo-wearing, bushy eye browed boy landed in front of the group.

They all raised their eyebrows at the boy in front of them. He was certainly… _Different_.

_**That's putting it lightly….**_ Nanaki thought sarcastically.

"Right now?" Sasuke asked.

"My name is Rock Lee! I wish to test my skills against those of the Uchiha Prodigy! YOSH!" Lee exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Plus…" he started, and a light blush made its way onto his face as he glanced at Sakura and gave a single wink. Sakura's eyes widened, horrified. **AN/ no offense to lee! Hes COOL! This is just Sakura's reaction!**

She shuddered, "That hair… And those _eyebrows_…!" she muttered as she shuddered again.

"YOU ARE AN ANGEL!" he yelled, and he blew her a kiss. If it was possible, her eyes widened even more, as she dodged the kiss and ran to a far corner of the room. The two males of her team stared at her strangely.

"Hehe… I think I'll just stay waaaaaay over here until your done. Okay? Good!" she yelled back at them. And she did. She stood in the corner as Naruto got angry at Sasuke and decided to fight Lee instead. That didn't end very well.

Just as Sasuke was about to begin his fight, Sakura saw a little bit of Sand slip under a door on the second floor ledge. Glancing at her teammates, who were occupied at the moment, Sakura used this opportunity to dash up the stairs and into the aforementioned door without being noticed by her teammates or Lee.

Stepping into the empty hall, Sakura looked at her surroundings. An empty hall, lined with doors on either side greeted her. But no Gaara.

_*sigh* Not again…_ Sakura thought, discouraged.

"Come ON!!!" she yelled as her had flew out and hit the nearest wall in anger. Unsurprisingly, the wall had no damage to it, while her hand…

"OWWW!!! Okay! Bad idea!!!!" she yelled in pain, gripping her hand, "Geeze… Maybe I should just go… Either way, I'll see him in the exams…" she decided, turning on her heel and walking back through the door, not noticing the shadow at the end of the hall that disappeared in a whirl of sand as soon as the door closed.

* * *

"SASUKE-KUN!" a blonde haired blue eyed girl yelled as she glomped Sasuke from behind, just seconds after Team 7 walked through the doors of the first Exam room. Sakura glared at her rival, but focused on the task at hand. She had to find her new sensei. Why was that red headed boy so hard to find?

_There's so many!!!_She thought in disbelief. There must have been over a hundred at LEAST!

_Okay… I'm a bit intimidated now…._ Sakura thought with a sweatdrop, looking around.

_Nope. Too tall… Too short… Too nice looking… *shudder* too CREEPY… THERE!_

After all of her searching, the pink haired Gennin finally found the red headed-sand wielder.

…All the way across the LARGE room…

_Great…_

_**Eh, no biggy! You can talk to him after the exams! **_The demon thought with a smile.

_Not like I have much of a choice._

Turning back to her group, she realized that the whole Rookie 9 had gathered in their edge of the room. They were causing quite a ruckus as it was. She was going to go over and shush them, but a silver-haired glasses-wearing boy beat her to it. He began showing the Rookies Nin- Info cards, blank cards that revealed information of a specific ninja when chakra was inserted.

Sasuke stepped forward and spoke, "Do you have information on specific nin?"

The man, Kabuto, chuckled and replied "Why, do you have someone you're worried about? It's fine though, I have information on all of this exam's participants. Even you guys." He stated, motioning to the Rookie 9. "Give me a name and I'll take a look."

"Gaara from Suna, and Rock Lee from Konoha."

Kabuto grinned slightly, but no one really paid attention. He added a bit of chakra into the cards and held up Lee's. He started listing out facts about Lee that were pretty standard, saying how taijutsu is his strong point. Kabuto then held up Gaara's card, and all of Team 7's attention was focused on the on the white/ silverhaired boy.

"Sabaku no Gaara. Mission History: C-rank 18; B-rank 1. Wow, a B-rank mission as a Genin." Everyone's eyes widened at that statement. " I don't have a lot of information on him because he's a newcomer, but… It seems he came back from all of his missions without even a scratch." Kabuto finished.

Team 7 was in shock, everyone for different reasons.

_That spook is that good? _Sasuke thought, eyes wide for a change.

_This might be hard… But I'll beat him! DATTEBAYO!!! _You can guess who thought that…

Sakura's eyes were by far the widest. _What have I gotten myself into…?_ She thought, shell-shocked. Suddenly, Naruto jumped onto one of the tables.

"MY NAME IS UZUMAKI NARUTO!!! I WON'T LOOSE TO YOU BASTARDS!!!!" he shouted to the entire room, "YOU GOT THAT???" he finished, jumping down from the table, a large grin on his face.

Sakura sweatdropped at him, but couldn't help but smile a bit. His enthusiasm was contagious.

* * *

Across the room, Naruto's loud proclamation drew a great deal of attention, including that of the Sand Siblings.

"Aren't those the brats we ran into yesterday?" Kankuro asked to no one in particular. Gaara was staring in the direction of the said Rookies, finding a specific head of pink in the crowd. He felt his demon shift within him.

_**When are you going to hold up you end of the bargain? **_He growled at his container.

_What bargain? _

_**You agreed to train the pink girl didn't you? **_Shukaku asked sarcastically. Gaara restrained a groan of annoyance at the thought of training the pinkette. He hadn't seen any of her skills, but he wasn't looking forward to it. She looked weak. Besides, he didn't want to risk… Whatever it was that happened last time they touched to happen again.

_I'll find her after the exam. Until then, leave me be. _Gaara commanded the tanuki demon in his head.

Shukaku chuckled darkly and said, _**As you wish…**_

* * *

Hearing a crash behind her, Sakura spun around and saw a Sound ninja attacking Kabuto.

Or attempting might be the better word for it. As soon as the Sound boy struck, Kabuto dodged in a blur. It looked as if the attack missed, but suddenly Kabuto's glasses shattered. Sakura turned her head as he threw up. If Naruto's yelling didn't draw everyone's attention, it was certainly there now.

Sakura shuddered slightly as she thought, _What kind of an attack was that? I didn't see him hit Kabuto…_ Her thoughts were broken as a loud 'POOF' drew everyone's attention to the front of the room.

"QUIET YOU WORTHLESS SCUM!" a voice shouted from inside the cloud of smoke.

_What the…?_

As the smoke cleared, it revealed dozens of proctors for the exam.

"Thanks for waiting. I am Morino Ibiki, the exam proctor for the Chuunin Selection Exam's first test." He turned toward the Sound trio. "You Hidden Sound guys, stop doing as you please before the exam. Do you want to fail already?"

One of the Sound Ninja's grinned slightly, but you couldn't really see it through the mask. "I apologize… This is our first time… We got a bit carried away…"

"Meh." Ibiki replied. He went on to explain the rules of the first exam.

* * *

Someone up there must hate her. That was Sakura's only explanation for her current situation.

They had been randomly been assigned seats for the written exam, and she was _lucky _enough to sit _right next to_ her current headache.

Gaara.

She sighed and placed her head on her test, laying her arms on the desk. She had finished a while ago, knowing all of the answers, and was now observing the other contestants. (And ignoring the boy not a foot away from her…) Every now and then, someone would be caught cheating too five times and their team would be disqualified and escorted out.

Sakura, being the bundle of brains she is, had figured out that the objective of the test would be to observe their information gathering skills through cheating without getting caught. With another sigh, she hoped that her teammates had realized it.

Glancing over in Sasuke's direction, she saw that he had his eyes were red with Sharingan and he was staring intently at the person in front of him, copying the movements. A little of the worry left her, but it was back when she glanced at Naruto, who was sweating profusely and pulling at his hair. She thought that she heard him muttering "Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme are going to kill me…" but it was probably just her imagination. Dismissing her worries for good, she convinced herself that Naruto would find a way to pass _somehow_.

She didn't dare glance at her *gulp* _new sensei_…

_No WAY! Ugh, he's just helping me…_

_*Mind transfer no jutsu!*_

All of a sudden, Sakura felt a chill go up her spine, and she sat bolt upright, before feeling a sensation of losing consciousness as her eyes closed.

_*Hehe sorry FOREHEAD GIRL. I'm making use of the brain behind that big brow of yours. You should be thanking me.* _The cocky voice of Yamanaka Ino thought, now seeing the answers on Sakura's paper through her eyes. _*Heheheh!* _

* * *

Next to Ino, who is in Sakura's body at the moment, Gaara was staring at the pinkette strangely. She had just sat up, looking like someone had shocked her or something, and now she had a malicious glint in her eyes as she was reading her answers.

_What the hell?_ He thought, confused, not that he'd admit it. Looking at the clock and seeing that he only had half an hour left, he gathered some sand into the palm of his hand and it formed an eye. Making a hand sign in front of his forehead, he crushed the eye, sending sand flying in every direction.

_The third eye is opened._

The sand got into a boys eyes, distracting him as the sand eye formed on his paper, allowing Gaara to copy his answers. When he was done, he just sat back, face emotionless.

Glancing at the pinkette sitting next to him, she suddenly slumped down on the desk before sitting up slowly, shaking her head and looking around as if she'd just woken up. When she looked his way, their eyes met for a second, before she let out an almost inaudible squeak, blushed and turned to face the front where Ibiki was about to speak.

"Okay, we will not start with the tenth question! For this question, you must choose whether or not you answer…"

"Choose?!" Temari's voice broke out. "And what happens if we choose not to answer?!" she yelled.

"Choose not to answer, and your points will be reduced to zero. You'll FAIL, along with your teammates!" he shouted over the gennins.

"And now the other rule…"

_More?! Give it a break already!!! _

"If a person chooses to answer the question, but answers incorrectly, they will be BANNED from taking the Chuunin Exams ever again!" his voice boomed. Everyone's eyes widened.

Except for Gaara's that is, he had already figured it out. He was sitting calmly, eyes emotionless as usual.

"Those who aren't confident enough to answer can quit and disqualify their team. To try again NEXT YEAR!" he finished, a malicious grin on his face. It was soon gone, replaced with a serious expression.

"Anyone who wants to leave, raise your hands now!"

Sakura waited nervously as more and more gennins left the room. She watched Naruto's back as his hand raised slightly.

"Naruto…" she whispered quietly. She thought about his dream to become Hokage. If he never made it past Gennin, how could he reach his dream? Her hand began to raise slightly.

A sudden tug on her wrist made her hand go back to her side. Glancing over, she saw a small string of sand looping around her wrist, preventing her from raising it. Giving Gaara an extremely confused look, she watched as his lips formed two words.

"He's bluffing."

Recognition dawned on her face as she let her arms fall completely limp at her sides, the loop of stand still on her wrist. As she thought about the whole situation, a small smile began blooming on her face.

She sat still as she watched Naruto stand and proclaim that he wouldn't give up, that was his ninja way!

Ibiki was quiet for a second, then he spoke again, " Now, to those of you who remain, I congratulate you for passing the first test of the Chuunin Selection Exams!" he shouted.

Shock was visible on everyone's faces. Everyone except Gaara and Sakura that is.

Gaara was sitting the same was he was before Ibiki announced they passed. Emotionless as ever.

Sakura on the other hand, was grinning like a mad woman. She felt like she was going to burst out laughing from relief. Deciding against that option, she let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding and slouched back down in her seat, a smile still planted on her lips.

She watched as Anko burst through the wall, causing quite a commotion. The lady seemed kind of crazy. Scratch that, she _was _crazy.

"All right you maggots!!! The second test of the Chuunin selection exams will begin in three days!!! Use your time until then wisely…" she ordered them, a malicious grin on her face.

_Three days? _Sakura thought worriedly as everyone filed out of the room, some to celebrate, others to train. _That doesn't leave us much time…_ She pondered her options as she bid her goodbyes to her team and walked in the direction of the training grounds.

* * *

As she stepped into the clearing where she first talked with Gaara, Sakura got the sudden feeling of being watched. Spinning every which way to find the intruder, she only succeeded in making herself dizzy. Putting out an arm to steady herself, she froze when she heard his voice.

"If you cannot even find me when my chakra isn't masked, then we have a lot more work than I expected." Spinning again to face the voice, emerald eyes clashed with teal orbs. The sand master was perched on one of the branches above her head, looking down on her from above like a bird of prey.

"Gaara!" she gasped, holding her hand to her heart. He had given her quite the shock. Jumping down, he stood level with the pink haired girl. Only having about three inches of height difference, he only had to glance down slightly to meet her eyes. "You scared me…"

"I can see that." He responded, blunt as ever. He then sighed, an almost infinitesimal shift in his breathing. "We have a lot of work to do..." he muttered and turned on his heel, heading back into the trees.

Sakura just stared at his back numbly, not sure exactly what to do.

"Aren't you coming?" his low, gravelly voice called from over his shoulder. "Unless you don't want to be trained…?" the slightly annoyed voice called again.

Letting out a small 'eep!', Sakura ran to catch up with the boy.

* * *

_Let the training begin._

* * *

**Fin.**

**Cha-YES! This is EXTREMELY LONG FOR ME!!!!! NYAHH!!! Once again, this is dedicated to Deidara's Wolf and IM SO SORRY ABOUT BEING LATE TTT__TTT**

**Im horrible at deadlines.*sniff***

**So! Here you go! And ill be updating BOTH of my stories soon, but not this weekend cuz my bball team made STATE PLAYOFFS!!!! YES! Haha mkay! Plz review, or alert, or pm or whatever! But I love feedback! It makes me feel guilty if I don't update, so I update faster ^___^**

**Revieeeeew \/**


	3. Chapter 3

**IM SORRY, IM SORRY, IM SORRY, IM SORRY, IM SORRY, IM SOOOOOORRY!!!!!!! **

**TTT__TTT**

**This is sooooooo late!!!!! Im so sorry!!!!!!! *sobs in a corner in shame***

***sniff* here you go kuro-chan TT_TT**

_Disclaimer: _Nope nope! I do not own, you guys should know that by now!

_Sakura_

_**Nanaki**_

_Gaara_

_**Shukaku**_

* * *

….

Silence.

That's what greeted Sakura's ears as she stood, chest heaving up and down, lungs screaming for air. Her legs trembled beneath the weight of her weary muscles, white dots dancing in front of her vision.

They had agreed to spar to test her basic skills.

…

That had been her mistake.

* * *

**Half an Hour Earlier**

"So… What should we do first?" Sakura finally piped up after a few awkward moments of silence. They had been standing near the river he had chosen to train near for what seemed to Sakura like an endless amount of time; all the while, Gaara trying to find a way to teach the…. Pink thing…

_What was her name again?_

_**Sakura. Her name is Sakura. **_The demon informed him with a pleased grin.

_**Right...**_ He thought, stealing a discreet glance at the girl, and her pink hair, _**It suits her.**_

Deciding to answer her question, for she was looking fairly uncomfortable, he responded simply

"Spar, now"

And with that he disappeared in a flurry of sand.

_Shit! _Sakura thought as she dropped into a fighting stance, right hand sliding a kunai from her pouch.

Closing her eyes and focusing on her hearing, she tried to pick up any bit of noise that could be Gaara.

_**Big mistake…**_

_*Swish*_

Hearing a slight noise behind her, Sakura snapped her eyes open, prepared to turn in the direction of her opponent.

CRASH!

Sakura felt her body slam into the ground, a grainy substance pining her there and removing the kunai from her grasp.

_What the-… Sand?_

She tried, in vain, to struggle against the sand's iron grip, but made no progress. Sighing, she let her body go slack. The second she did, the sand released its grip on her body and slithered away to her. Sitting up and brushing the remaining grains off of her, Sakura heard a sigh.

Looking in that direction, Sakura saw Gaara looking in her direction, eyes emotionless as always. Disappointed at herself for being beaten so easily, she looked at him sharply and said:

"Well?"

He just stared at her for a moment before reaching down to unbuckle some of the clasps on his gourd.

Sakura's eyes widened a fraction.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked him warily, eyes following his every move. He stopped, and lifted his head to look at her, eyes impassive.

"I've decided how I should teach you. We have three days, correct?" he said.

She nodded, and then blushed as she realized that it was a rhetorical question.

"Day One: Basic fighting skills." Seeing her about to protest, he silenced her with a glare and said

"You need it."

Pulling off the gourd completely, he stepped into the middle of the clearing and waited. Glancing back at Sakura, his eyes showed a bit of annoyance as Sakura finally grasped that he was waiting for her to join him in the middle. She scrambled to her feet and dashed over to him, a blush dusting her face. Hr rolled his eyes imperceptibly at her actions.

Sliding his hand into his kunai pouch, he shot his arm out lightning fast, sending the kunai straight into the trunk of a tree across the clearing. Not turning to face the pinkette, he instructed her.

"Aim for that kunai."

Gulping to herself quietly, she pulled another kunai from her pouch and poised her arm to strike. Taking a deep breath, she concentrated and exhaled, eyes locked on the kunai.

Gaara looked at her from the corner of his eyes, wondering why she was taking so long to throw. Then she moved, arm snapping, wrist flicking, the kunai hurdling towards its target.

The duo watched as her kunai hit his and ricocheted off with a metallic clang. Both eyes widened slightly, emerald more so then sea-foam. The clearing was silent for a moment.

* * *

"Shuriken. Now."

Sakura obliged, reaching into her other pocket and drawing out three shuriken. Two in her right hand and one in her left. Taking another breath, she flicked out her left arm, releasing the shuriken held there, and did a small spin step and turning to release the two in her right.

Three consecutive metallic clangs were heard as all three shuriken met their mark – dead on.

* * *

"At least we don't have to work on your aim." His voice spoke dryly, probably the closest thing to humor that Sakura had heard from him - ever.

Her face broke into a pleased grin and she let out a satisfied giggle.

_**YOU GO GIRL!!! Show him what you're made of!!! **_Nanaki's boisterous voice cut through her happiness, boosting her confidence a bit more.

"Don't think that just because you can aim you're a successful kunoichi. You still have a lot of work to do." His voice, once again cold, spoke as he walked a good ten feet away from her and turned around to face her. He lowered his body into a fighting stance.

"Come at me."

Sakura had a shocked look on her face. Didn't he remember what happened _last_ time they tried this? Grudgingly she crouched in a stance. Instinctively, her slim fingers wrapped around the handle of a kunai.

* * *

She was off in a flash, charging towards him, kunai outstretched. He dodged, so fast she couldn't tell which direction he went. Before she could recover, a hand grasped her wrist from behind and twisted, forcing her to drop her kunai. Her arm was then twisted behind her and her front was pressed roughly against a nearby tree. His chest was an inch from her back, heat radiating from it, but not touching.

An electric-like shock resounded through both of their bodies as a connection between their demons was made.

They blinked and opened their eyes. A sort of joined conciousness was created between them in the form of a dim room candles providing the only source of light. Glancing at eachother for a second, they looked around with raised brows. On either side of them were tall iron bars extending to the ceiling, forming two cages, almost like cells, on opposite sides of the room. The left side was lit in a golden hue, flames lickering the color instead of its natural orange. The right side had a dark purple hue hanging in the air, and purpleish black flames on the candles. Both cells had a piece of paper stuck to them, like someone had sealed the doors shut with a single sticker.

"Where ARE we?!" Sakura asked, a bit of panic creeping into her voice. She took a few stpes foward to look around, but was jerked back suddenly, a jingling noise piercing the air. She glanced down towards her hand to find the source of the jingle.

And was thouroughly stunned.

There, attached to both of their wrists, was a pair of shackles, binding them together.

A snarling voice coming from the left cell shook the two from their stupor.

_**So it WAS you. **_Shukaku half chuckled, half growled; referring to Nanaki.

_**To be completely honest, I never thought I'd see YOU again. **_Nanaki replied from across the hall in the other cell in a mock-detached tone.

Both teens were shocked by the interaction. Shocked and extremely confused.

"What the hell is going on?!" Sakura asked, albeit loudly.

_**And here I thought you were bright.** _The voice growled sarcastically.

**_He's my mate. You know, the one I mentioned earlier? _**

"YES! I've got that part! What I don't get is why you didn't mention that GAARA was his CONTAINER!!!" Sakura screeched, thouroghly freaking out.

"And how come I haven't heard about ANY of this?" Gaara growled, much like his container.

**_Shut up boy! _**

**_Minor technicalities. Everyone knows now, so theres no problem. And if you don't mind... I'd like to ask a favor... from both of you._**

Both _teens_ were silent, and she took their silence as affirmation.

**_Would you mind... Switching consciouses? Just for a few moments? _**Nanaki questioned innocently.

"What do you mean switching con-" Sakura started.

"No. No way in Hell."Gaara hissed as he shot down the neko's idea. Images of the chaos caused when he was younger flashed through his head, making him wince.

**_And why the hell not?! _**the angry cat demon hissed right back at the teen.

"You're a demon, you should know why the hell not! The second I loose conciousness he'll take over and go on a fucking killing spree!" he growled right back at the neko.

**_I'll give you my word as a demon, he will not go on a rampage and will return your conciousness within a few minutes. _**

"Your word means nothing to me."

**_I guess we have to do this the hard way... _**Nanaki sang, not sounding disappointed in the prospect of whatever she was about to do.

"What are you-"

There was a bright flash, and they were back in their bodies, Gaara still pinning Sakura to the tree.

Sakura stiffened in his grip, and she squeezed her eyes shut. She yanked her arms from his hands and hissed in pain as she gripped her head. A small strangled scream of pain passed her lips before she froze again and stood upright, eyes closed.

Gaara took a step back from the girl who had started to get a purplish glow around her. Her eyes snapped open, no longer shining emerald, but a deep purple covered her entire eye, not just the iris, while a single gash of yellowish gold served as her iris.

The girl, for she wasn't _really _Haruno Sakura at least not at the moment, grinned a malecious sort of grin.

"Hello... _Gaara-kun_." she half purred. She was a cat demon after all.

"H...Haruno?" he asked, only slightly confused. He could guess what was going on, but he didn't want to believe it.

"Not... _quite_."

Grin still in place, she suddenly disappeared. Tense and ready for anything, Gaara summoned sand from his gourd, wrapping it around him in a defensive manner. It wasn't smart to underestimate a demon, and Gaara always was considered smart.

_Snap._

In the span of a second, she launched herself at him, limbs a blur. His sand shot up and blocked her, but only for a second. A brilliant purple flame was emmited from her arms as she coated them in chakra. As if in slow motion, he watched the sand fall from her limbs as the demonic chakra nullified the effects of his sand. Time speeded back up as he closed fist bypassed his sand and embedded itself in his gut, sending him, end over end, to crash into a tree. A spike of pain shot through his ribs as he stood, remnants of the fallen tree behind him.

The pain... that foreign feeling... it set him off. He emmited a gutteral yell as he clutched his head. His eyes burned with an intense heat; blinking, he opened them, cyan iris's now black with molten gold pupil. Sand whirled around him, a veil between jiinchuriki. A strangled scream clawed it's way out of his throat as his human half tried to gain dominance.

In vain, all in vain.

Trapped, a prisoner in her own mind, Sakura watched the short scuffle and how it was rapidly escalating. She desperately searched for an escape from the blackness that surrounded her, a way out of the dark, so she could **stop **_this. _Whatever _this _is, this fight, this feeling, this darkness, **anything**. She wanted out, and she wanted to save him too.

She didn't know why, but she could see that he was suffering too, more so then she was, and being the future-medic nin she was, she wanted to stop his pain.

Or so her excuse was.

_Come on Sakura, use that big forhead of yours... _she mentally encouraged herself.

_When we came in there were cages... And Nanaki was **inside **the cage so... _Sakura continued her musings to herself for a moment, sensing it wasn't long before the two demons

(_no no no, we're NOT.)_

(_her _& _him. Sakura_ & _Gaara)_

began their clash again. And then it came to her.

_Yes._

* * *

Meanwhile, Gaara was fighting his own inner battle. Shukaku was fighting, tooth and nail, for controll over Gaara's mind; and Gaara was fighting back just as hard. He felt his teeth begin to sharpen slightly, a sign he was releasing the one-tail. He let out another frusterated scream as he tried to force his demon back into the cage where he was sealed.

_Goddammit...GET OUT OF MY FRICKEN MIND!!!! _he screamed at the tanuki. He felt his conciousness slipping away, slow tendrils of his sanity.

His state was broken when he felt a smalller, warm body crash into his chest and cling to him. It was as if someone had flicked an ON switch in a darkened room. His entire being filled with light as all traces of his demon's control vanished. The two of them collapsed in a heap on the ground, chests heaving from the encounter.

Gaara opened his eyes grogily; when Shukaku attacks his mind it's the closest he gets to sleeping, and it makes him tired. His vision was clouded with pink, and Gaara idly wondered if he had truely waken up. His mind kicked in and supplied him with all of the memories of what had just occured. He was _stunned_. A _girl_, a HYPERACTIVE, **fangirling**, pinkhaired_, girl _had freed him from his demon.

How the HELL did she do that?!

* * *

Her body was shaking, in fear or exaughstion or stress, she didn't know. She had done it though, she had sealed her demon inside again, and she had done the same for him too. She was barely aware that she was still lying on top of him, trying to regain her breath. Her mind flickered back to her acomplishment and she grinned a tiny proud smile. A scratchy voice from below her interupted her pride.

"How... How did _you _do that...?" he asked, sounding more like a little kid then he had in a while. She focused her attenton on his, and met his cyan eyes.

And noticed their_... peculiar _position.

With a quick blush, she rolled off him and they lay side by side in the grass, staring up at the leafy canopy that blocked their view of the sky.

"I... well..." she tried to figure out how to describe just _what_ she did.

"...do you remember the cages?"

She got no response from the boy, but since it was a 'no' persay, she continued.

"I figured that all I had to do was get her back in the cage... but that was the hard part... She won't be bothering me for a while after that..." she didn't have to look at the boy to feel his questioning gaze.

"I used the seal on the door... Kind of... I technically didn't release her, at lease not all the way, so the seal wasn't broken. I... forced her to back into the seal... and she was... sucked in, almost. I'm rambling, sorry, but I don't really know how to put it..." she finished with a sigh, head turning so her gaze met his. It was anxious; he sat up in a rush, and she followed suit with a worried glance. All of a sudden glared at her, an edge of panic in his eyes.

"How did you make Shukaku disappear? It's _quiet_! His voice is _never quiet_!" a sudden rush of sand pinned her to the tree trunk behind her as he came in close to her face; was that_ pleading _in his voice?

_"What. Did. You. Do?"_ he growled, half hysterical. She was scared. She'd had no idea he would react like _that._

"I-I don't know! All I did was blend some of my chakra with yours! I took it back though!" she yelped as the sand rose higher.

He growled in a low tone, glaring, the sand constricting slightly. Her eyes widened in a panic.

"I don't know what to tell you! _Let me go!_" she screamed at him, some tears flooding her vision, but she refused to let them fall.

He froze at her voice and he thought.

_Why _was he angry with _her_?

She had just sealed his demon away and probably saved his mission; there would be Hell to pay from the elders if he screwed this up, and he was sure they would be happy to send him_ there. _He was acting completely irrational, just because he didn't understand what she had dont, and apparently she didn't either.

With that thought, he released her and stepped back, suddenly feeling ashamed of his actions.

_Wh-what the hell is happening to me? I haven't felt these emotions in... Kami knows how long. _Just thinking about his past, when he _wasn't_ aware of his status as a 'monster' made his heart and head hurt.

"I..." he started. Then he looked at her, kneeling on the ground, clutching at her arms which were beginning to show light bruises. She was looking at him incredulously, but not with hate.

No, there was no hate in her gaze.

_Shit. _

"Meet me here tomorrow at sunrise if you want to continue your training." he muttered, just loud enough for her to hear it. Then he summoned his sand and disappeared in a whirlwind, leaving her staring after him.

* * *

"Hey! Hey Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled from behind her as he ran to catch up with her on the crowded street. Said girl slowed her pace so he could catch up, then stopped completely as he caught up and regained his breath. Hands on his knees he panted for a few seconds before looking up at her with a brilliant grin.

"Do you want to come get ramen with me?"

Sakura opened her mouth, to speak the normal insult and decline his offer, as she normally did. But she stopped herself. She was changing herself right? Why not do it in more ways then one and give Naruto a chance?

A small smile graced her features as she responded.

"Sure." But still, old habbits die hard, "But you're paying!"she laughed as they started walking towards the shop.

Completely unaware of a silent crimson headed figure glaring menacingly at the blonde who was just a bit too close to the pinkette for his comfort.

* * *

FIN! at least for this second! i have IDEEEEAS!!! so im gonna write write WRITE!!! ^___^ just got ova some intense writers block, and schools ova in TWO DAYS!!!! YES!!!!! X)

plz review, ill update faster! (i promise)


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